Italy arrests 13 prison guards over suspected torture of juvenile detainees

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian police arrested 13 prison guards on suspicion of torture and ill-treatment of juvenile detainees, Milan prosecutors said on Monday.

In addition to the 13 guards, 12 of whom work at the Cesare Beccaria juvenile detention centre in Milan, eight other officers have been suspended, prosecutors said in a statement.

The juvenile prison is staffed by 50 guards, but has not had a director for 20 years. The prison made no immediate comment on the arrests, while the main guards' union issued a statement saying it was "dismayed" by news of the investigation.

"We know that the penitentiary guards throughout Italy operate with professionalism and humanity ... However, as always, we trust in the judiciary to shed light on the matter as soon as possible," the SAPPE union said.

The investigation stemmed from reports by the prisoners' rights ombudsman and made use of both the testimonies of the male juvenile detainees and wiretaps and camera footage from inside the prison, prosecutors said.

The alleged offences were committed from 2022 to the present day, they added.

"It is a painful affair and a bad page in the (history of the) institutions," Milan chief prosecutor Marcello Viola told a news conference.

He added that the detainees were handcuffed, so they could not protect themselves, and beaten in a way meant to leave no marks.

"The suspects believed their actions were justified as educational, in response to bad behaviour by inmates, but instead this was unlawful violence," prosecutor Letizia Mannella told reporters.

Italy, like other European countries, has had repeated problems in its prisons, with watchdogs saying years of underfunding has led to massive overcrowding and poor living conditions for inmates.

However, it has a relatively low juvenile prison population - albeit one that it growing fast. Antigone, a prisoners' welfare organisation, said there were 532 juvenile detainees held in 17 centres at the end of February, up from 381 in 2022.

(Reporting by Emilio Parodi; editing by Crispian Balmer and Mark Heinrich)